James Harrison's Rumored Move to Cincinnati Is Reportedly Unlikely

The Bengals front office may be sidestepping the rumors of interest in James Harrison following a slow Tuesday.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN analyst Adam Schefter tweeted that while the Bengals remain in talks with former Steelers linebacker James Harrison, a deal does not look imminent. Schefter originally tweeted on April 14 that the Bengals were working on a deal with Harrison.

Rumors stirred throughout the weekend, but according to a Bengals source (per Schefter), "Does not look like the numbers will work."

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Bengals and former Steelers LB James Harrison continue talking, but as one source texted, "Does not look like the numbers will work."

Harrison was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers after he refused to restructure his contract. He was slated to make $6.75 million this year in Pittsburgh. Now he'll almost certainly make less money whereever he lands.

The Bengals accepted the news of Harrison's interest and NFL.com analyst Kevin Patra went as far as to say that Harrison's signing was "assumed." Several players spoke about Harrison's potentially positive addition to the locker room.

He's a guy that I think would be great in this locker room. He's no-nonsense, really dedicated, fierce competitor. He's one of those guys that sets a tone the way he plays the game. It would be great to have him in our locker room.

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins had this to add about Harrison fitting into the Bengal defense (per Hobson): "There's always enough room. You can't have too many pass rushers with this being a throwing league."

The matter was briefly addressed in a Hobson piece published today, stating, "The James Harrison deal hasn't gone down as quickly and as easily as some thought and there looked to be no movement Tuesday."